32 Greatest footballers in the history of the English Premier League - Part 24
14. David Beckham:
David Beckham is a professional footballer who is currently playing for the Major League Soccer side Los Angeles Galaxy in America. The 35-year-old has appeared for many teams including the English Premier League giants Manchester United, Spanish club side
Real Madrid along with Italian club side AC Milan. David Beckham has also performed for Preston North End. The English player was a right winger, or a right midfielder who has had the honour to represent England’s national team, setting the record for being
the most “capped” player in the English national team.
David Beckham’s career started from English club side Brimsdown Rovers FC but the midfielder, as a child, was transferred to the London side Tottenham Hotspurs. He was in the youth academy of the North London side but after training with them for four years,
his talent was spotted by Sir Alex Ferguson who decided to take him in. Alex Ferguson decided to buy the “kid” and trained him with the Red Devils who were playing quality football during Beckham’s inclusion.
His career basically began when he signed a professional contract with the English club Manchester United. He was only 17 when he made his first appearance for the English club back in 1992. David Beckham was an outstanding talent and while playing in his
preferred right wing position, he managed to win a lot of titles for the Red Devils. During his time in the English club, he managed to win the Premier League title six times along with the FA Cup that he managed to win twice. He also got his hands on European
glory when he helped his team win a dramatic final in the Nou Camp in 1999, when Manchester United became champions of the UEFA Champions League.
David Beckham decided to leave Manchester United in 2003 when he decided to join the Spanish side Real Madrid. He became one of the “very few” English superstars who have managed to play for the Spanish giants. In Real Madrid, Beckham played for four years
and helped the team win the Spanish La Liga during his last season with the Spanish club. After winning the La Liga title, in January 2007 there were rumours that David Beckham was going to leave Real Madrid and was going to join the American league, Major
Soccer League. On 1st July 2007, a deal was struck between Los Angeles Galaxy and Real Madrid when David Beckham signed a 5-year contract with the Major League Soccer side.
While playing for the American team, David Beckham performed for the Italian team AC Milan when he came to the Italian league during his two loan spells.
While becoming a roaring success at club level football, David Beckham didn’t give up on his international duties. The English star made his debut on 1st September, 1996 and the dynamic winger managed to become the captain of the English national
team on 15th November, 2000. He was the captain of the English team until the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals. David Beckham managed to play 58 games for the three lions as the captain. Overall, he managed to surpass Bobby Moore’s appearances in the
English team when he appeared for the 109th time on 28th March, 2009. The former English captain has appeared on 115 occasions for the team and he still does not wish to retire from international football. His injury made him miss the
FIFA World Cup 2010 when Fabio Capello decided to take him to South Africa only as an assistant coach.
As an individual, David Beckham has been named as a runner up of the FIFA World Player of the Year on two occasions. In 2004, he was the highest paid footballer in the world. He was the first British footballer ever to feature in 100 Champions League matches.
Tags: